How to Combat Hypothermia

Keeping your body out of the water is the most effective means. Life rafts are everyone's first choice since they keep you out of the water, provide shelter along with equipment. If you are not going offshore immersion suits are your next best choice. While they do not get your body out of the water, immersion suits provide excellent thermal insulation.

If dedicated life saving equipment is not in your budget figure out ahead of time what you are going to do. A dinghy is an alternative providing it can be quickly launched. If you always travel with another vessel good communications can get help there quicker. At times even items like plastic coolers become the only survival aid available although in cold waters they would not be much help.